Phoenix Music Blog

Beyonce also did a version of Alanis' "You Oughtta Know" when she played Phoenix last summer.

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This year's Grammy's ceremony was full of instances that just made you scratch your head, furl your brow, and go, "Really?!?" Whether it was a pleasantly surprised reaction, a hearty laugh, or a look of sheer horror, there were plenty of unexpected moments. The night of numerous live performances was merely punctuated by the announcement of a few major awards. It's pretty hard to take the Grammy's seriously at this stage anyway, but it's kinda like watching a bad train wreck. When the train is covered with glitter, filled with celebrities, and shooting fireworks out the smokestack.

The participants of the annual Idiotarod depart from in front of the Bikini Lounge.

​As that old maudlin saying goes, it's not the destination but the journey that's important. Just ask the participants in the Idiotarod race from this past Saturday.

The ultra-colorful annual event, which is put on by the AZ Cacophony Society and involves teams of five people wearing costumes and piloting wacky and wonderfully decorated shopping carts around downtown Phoenix, is ostensibly a competitive race with prizes handed out to top finishers. Truth be told, however, it felt like more like a pageant and a parade, where most of the participants were more interested in just showing up and showing off what they'd conjured up for their carts. (Awards were also given for the more creative and original enteries).

It felt a bit like Burning Man than the Baja 1000 out on Grand Avenue as participants lined up on the sidewalk in front of the Bikini Lounge before the race with their artistic and outrageous costumes and carts.

Here's a rundown of some of the most memorable entries, IMHO.

​We can officially look back at 2009 in the dust trail behind us. It's over and done, and we are just finishing up contemplating what the year brought us. For the music crowd, that means a reflection of any and all recordings that made 2009 what it was. Music editor Martin Cizmar presents to us his top 10 list for the year, and sadly, only one Arizona band made the cut. Village Voice music editor Rob Harvilla presents his list too, (with no overlap onto Cizmar's, in case you were curious.) Ben Westhoff poins out to us all of the ridiculous lyrics written in 2009. Hilarious, though not intentional. (We're laughing at them, not with them.) And of course, we do have information about this year as well. Lymbyc Systym is back in town, Stephen Lynch finally makes his way to the Valley, and local youngsters Watchout! Theres Ghosts play Mesa, even if they aren't gramatically correct.

Jack White. Music god of our generation.

​Jack White has quickly attained a legendary, iconic status, even without the aging it typically takes for one to achieve such accolades. In the last decade, he has rocked our world, and is something of a King Midas of indie music. Everything he touches seems to turn to gold. He is not only a brilliant songwriter and performer, but he's a phenomenal producer, and has an ear and appreciation for music as an art form, regardless of style or genre.

The '00s brought the rise of not one, not two, but three well received White groups, (White Stripes, Raconteurs, and Dead Weather,) as well as Grammys, gold and platinum records, and a number of unique and unlikely collaborations. His "back-to-basics" style, humility, and reverence for the work of others earns him respect and endearment. He maintains strong connections to his hometown of Detroit and its music scene, even though the city is one of the most depressed parts of the country.

Here's to you, Jackie! Can't wait to see what gifts you will impart to us in the '10s.

For this list, I have compiled my favorite albums of the past decade -- the oft-terrible Aughts. While the decade itself might have sucked a big one, the music that was produced was incredible -- perhaps the only upside to an otherwise disheartening 10 years. In my top ten you will notice that no one year has more than one album. This is to keep things fair and to also present a challenge in looking back in the past decade in music. Some years had more noteworthy albums than some, but it would be unfair to flood the list with, say, picks from the years 2004-2006. Those albums that did not make the top ten will be represented in the honorable mentions list. Enjoy.

Daft Punk

​Maybe it's the karaoke. Maybe it's increasingly harsh DUI laws. Maybe it's the fact that every douchebag hipster with a Mac and blogger buddies thinks he's a DJ. Whatever the reason, it's been a bad era for the rock club. Anyone who likes to listen to live music on a small scale will tell you America is hemorrhaging concert clubs.

The re-opening of Long Wong's, Arizona's best-known rock club before it was shuttered, then demolished, back in 2004, has us thinking a lot about those missing music venues. And not just here. Here are America's top 10 now-closed meccas for live music. Many of these we've been to, a few we just wish we'd been to. All of them are dearly missed by their former patrons.

In the spirit of Long Wong's probable rebirth as a live music venue -- instead of its current role as just a well-regarded chain of wing joints with no connection to the Mill Ave. nightspot -- we've also included two clubs that re-opened after lengthy hiatuses, capturing some of their former mojo.

Joe Cocker: This asshat set the standard for the terrible, awful, ridiculous cover song.

​For me -- and I suspect for you -- a truly great song is three-to-five odd minutes of pure, unadulterated bliss. The state of euphoria you attain when listening cannot be tampered with. You would never want someone standing in front of you talking during a concert. You would never want extraneous noises, like sirens, a vacuum cleaner, or a vocal house cat interrupting your private listening experience. And heaven knows, you don't want an incompetent musician covering what should be a beautiful four minute piece of art!

I am not trying to say that all covers are bad. This is undoubtedly untrue. There are a select few artists, well known or not, who approach covering the material of another with sincerity, and great care.

Up on the Sun is counting down the days until the unveiling of music editor Martin Cizmar's personal Best of 2009 list with some other lists from New Times' stable of excellent freelancers. Today, we bring you a list from Jay Bennett, New Times' editorial operations manager and a contributor to Up on the Sun. Beginning January 1, Bennett will not listen to any music released before 2010. This experiment will last one year. Every Monday through Friday during 2010, he will blog about a new record he's listened to. For more on the project, read Martin Cizmar's column on Aesthetic Atrophy. Here is his Top 10 of 2009, in no particular order.

Up on the Sun is counting down the days until the unveiling of music editor Martin Cizmar's personal Best of 2009 list with some other lists from Phoenix New Times' stable of excellent freelancers. Today we bring you a list from Mike R. Meyer, a New Times contributor, wannabe musician, video game enthusiast and pizza guy with a Master's degree. He doesn't have a personal blog because he's old.

​10. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

There was pretty much no way that the debut album by Them Crooked Vultures could possibly live up to the hype (and expectations) that preceded it. After all, the principles involved - Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), John Paul Jones (Led freakin' Zeppelin) - have sold more than a quarter-billion albums total and played in bands so groundbreaking that new genres of music - stoner rock, grunge, heavy freakin' metal - were invented to describe them. So when the end result sounds like nothing more than a really, really good QOTSA record, it's probably inevitable that some folks are going to be disappointed. I admit, I was a little disappointed myself. Then I realized that it's been almost a decade since I heard a really, really good QOTSA record, and my appreciation for this album began to grow. Them Crooked Vultures isn't going to make anyone forget about Nirvana or Led Zeppelin, but it's a far cry better than Lullabies to Paralyze or In Your Honor (or freakin' Presence, for that matter).

Up on the Sun is counting down the days until the unveiling of music editor Martin Cizmar's personal Best of 2009 list with some other lists from Phoenix New Times' stable of excellent freelancers. Today we bring you a list from Michael Lopez, a New Times contributor, and regular blogger at Up on the Sun. Unlike a lot of critics who like to spring obscure surprises on readers with their year-end lists, Michael is doing it the honest way. He's previously written about almost every act on his list -- and reviewed shows by several of them -- so you know it's music he's actually lived with and enjoyed in 2009.

Shout Out Out Out Out

​10. Shout Out Out Out  -- Reintegration Time 

Up on the Sun is counting down the days until the unveiling of music editor Martin Cizmar's personal Best of 2009 list with some other lists from Phoenix New Times' stable of excellent freelancers. Today we bring you a list from Jason P. Woodbury, a New Times contributor, a staff writer at Tiny Mix Tapes, who is also a record store flunkie and musican. His top 25 Records of 2009 can be found at his blog, and unlike his Top 10, it is not solely (only mostly) composed of music from nerdy white men.

10. Mayer Hawthorne- A Strange Arrangement (Stones Throw)

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There's been no shortage of retro-soul/R&B in the past few years, but even the best examples of the genre suffer from a serious case of "trying too hard."  Hawthorne's debut succeeds not because of its authenticity, though it does sound remarkably so, but because rather than try and mimic classics, Hawthorne straight rips them off.  A Strange Arrangement is a fun "name that riff" record, yielding answers ranging from Curtis Mayfield to The Temptations, but it's hard to focus on any accusations of creative plagiarism when the songs groove this hard.  Don't believe me? See if you can listen to "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'" without cracking a smile and tapping your foot.
 

​Christmas songs are one place where "new" definitely doesn't equal "good" in the minds of the masses, even in the newness-focused realm of popular music.

Personally I'm pretty attached to The Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick" and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You," the two greatest pop-artist produced Christmas songs of all time, but I'm always on the hunt for more greats, something along the lines of The Waitress' "Christmas Wrapping." Every year a new crop comes out though Instant Classic is a rare find.

What does the last year have to offer? Here's a few picks, with video.

As we all prepare to say goodbye to the Modified Arts as we have come to know it and wait for downtown to be ovah, we can't help but think of all the other amazing venues we have loved and lost in the Valley. Whether they were small and seedy or big with a bangin' sound system, there were several venues that housed some uber nostalgic moments for us as desert rats. Here's our tribute to those places that rocked us til they shut their doors for good.

The Web Theatre

Heather Hoch

​What it was: A fun place to go to a ska show, for sure. Web was primly located right off Van Buren and 6th Street. The place really had great sound and acoustics, and we can remember skanking the night away there on a few occasions.

What it is: The venue is now a stately medical school building for the University of Arizona's Phoenix campus. Sure, it's pretty, but we miss the jams.

Most Nostalgic Moment: We've heard a story about the singer from a popular local indie band being accosted by Juggalos in the early 2000s while trying to get home after school. We won't name names but, trust us, it's funny to imagine.

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Every zombie walk and kitschy zombie indie comedy is milking the zombiemania cash cow. However, the films that paved the way still get little recognition, which is a darn shame.

These films explore just what a human can do under apocalyptic circumstances and how far people will go to survive. Also, they're really gory and just plain fun to watch. We intend to right the injustices served to these overlooked classics, and with that, we proudly present the top underrated zombie films list.

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Yes, that's right, doors to Arizona Fall Frenzy, probably the biggest music festival Arizona has ever hosted, open in 30 hours. Sure, the lineup is not what a lot of people I know were hoping for -- and I, myself, had to put a little effort in to thinking of five sets I called "must sees" in this week's issue -- but this is still pretty huge. Right?

Here's a list of five things I'm looking forward to, and five things I'm not looking forward to when the gates come bursting open with starry-eyed women fighting for position to moon over Gavin Rossdale, Jason Mraz and Rob Thomas.

Bob Dylan's canceled show in Glendale tonight got us thinking about his son, Jakob Dylan, who is still young and fit enough to perform in just over 100 degree weather. He's less at risk for heatstroke, sure, but, of course, the number of folks who will shell out cash to see Jake is definitely not in the same ballpark as the those who would see Daddy Bobby perform.

That's kind of a trend, actually. Many children grow up to follow in their parents' footsteps, and the world of music is no different. Unfortunately, from what we found, few of them are able to get to the same level their 'rents did. Some come pretty close though. Here's our list of the top ten musicians spawned from other musicians.

In honor of The Bad Boys from Boston gracing the stage at Cricket Pavillion this evening, we've compiled a top ten list of Aerosmith's less-than-flattering moments. Sorry, no Joe Perry Solo album, here.

10. Liv Tyler as a Sex Symbol

Liv and Daddy Steven Tyler

Little Liv (Who was only 16 at the time) was cast as a rambunctiously risque schoolgirl in Aerosmith's 1994 music video, "Crazy." The producers apparently had no knowledge that Liv was Steven's daughter. 

9. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," A.K.A That God awful song from the equally as God awful film, Armageddon

Despite the song being a Billboard Hot 100 number one hit, it wasn't written by the band and was meant for Celine Dion. Enough said.​

Continue reading " Aerosmith's Ten Worst Moments"...

Tags: Aerosmith, Cricket Wireless Pavillion, Guitar Hero

1. You know what I've always hated? Hearing MJ described as "the self-proclaimed King of Pop." First, I don't think it's appropriately respectful of the man who wrote Thriller; second, as far as I know, it's totally inaccurate, as I've never heard Jackson refer to himself as the "King of Pop" and, even if he did, he was only using an honorific given to him by Liz Taylor. Look, folks, if Jackson was dubbed "The King" by Cleopatra herself, who are we to question it?

2. Oh, The Onion, you're always as prophetic as you are hilarious.

3. Thought from a co-worker who wishes to remain anonymous: "It's a lot like when grandma in hospice dies. He's in a better place right now."

Amazon takes their shot at indie rock's 100 greatest albums

The fine folks over at amazon.com decided that the time was ripe to assemble a list of the best indie rock albums of all time. Indie rock is a genre either really easy to define or kind of confusing to define, but that sentiment did not hold back amazon.com as their staff writers compiled their massive list. It is a sight to behold and it includes some impressive (and not so impressive) albums. Revel in the glory of the list after the jump.

Yes, you silly monkey, throw it already

On this week 15 years ago, East Bay punk stalwarts Green Day released their career-defining album, Dookie. Yeah, I said career-defining. Say what you will about American Idiot and what it did for the band (skyrocketing them into mega-stardom), but Green Day wouldn't even have had a chance to record that album without first unleashing Dookie onto the masses. The album, Green Day's third, sold 15 million copies worldwide and officially transformed the band into "sellouts" in the eyes of many smelly, dreadlocked, leather-wearing punk kids. While that may be true, the band can't be at fault for wanting to work with producer Rob Cavallo, the man responsible for launching Green Day into America's conscience. Dookie was, and still is, an amazingly tight, cohesive album. After recently giving it a listen, all those fuzzy memories still remain, and I still know all the lyrics to "Longview," "When I Come Around," and "Basket Case." Come, relive the glory with me as I explain why Dookie is one of, if not the best, punk/alternative rock albums of the '90s.

Is this what you think of the American public, Pepsi?

There were some truly awful ads on during yesterday's insanely competitive Super Bowl. The economy is changing, America is changing, and the past two Super Bowls have been some of the best games in Super Bowl history. I remember watching some Super Bowls that were atrocious, lopsided affairs that were over by halftime. It didn't matter for me, though -- I was much younger and enjoyed the commercials more than anything. Advertisements have become more and more clever over the years, and even though I despise most commercials, some of them are unique, clever and fun to watch. Pepsi, on the other hand, produces commercials that are manipulative, boring and completely hackneyed. They befuddled me and the majority of those watching the game with me with their most recent effort, "Refresh Anthem." A further examination of the commercial, and the video itself, follows after the jump.

On March 31, metal band Queensrÿche will release a concept record titled American Soldier. The band's 1988 album, Operation: Mindcrime, was also a concept record, but that concept was about a junkie who's brainwashed into becoming an assassin for an underground criminal organization, whereas American Soldier's concept follows the life of a soldier in the Iraq war.

Both of those storylines are good, but the world's seen no shortage of concept albums over the past four decades. In anticipation of Queensrÿche's upcoming new album, we take a look at our picks for the "Top 10 Concept Albums of All-Time," ordered from least to most outstanding, with apologies to Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and Styx's Kilroy Was Here for just barely missing the list.

10. The Mars Volta, De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003). This conceptual odyssey from prog rock purveyors The Mars Volta follows the story of a man named Cerpin Taxt, who fails to kill himself with a morphine and rat poison cocktail, and instead lapses into a week-long, vision-laden coma.

9. My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade (2006). This concept record about a man dying of cancer (known only as "The Patient") and his reflections on life is a surprisingly upbeat, rock-out journey.

8. Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974). Genesis' double-concept record (and the last to feature Peter Gabriel on vocals) tells the story of a young Puerto Rican hood named Rael, who travels to the nightmarish bowels of New York City to rescue his brother.

Not as excited as this dude for Sunday? No worries, I'm not, either.

If you're anything like me (and I recognize that most Arizonans--nay, most Americans--are not), you don't get football.

The overall appeal, the rules, the weird players-slapping-each-other-on-the-ass thing--it's all a bit baffling. But, there are a surprisingly large contingent of us who still attend Super Bowl parties every year for two overwhelming reasons: the food and the beer. If there were ever two more noble reasons to attend an event you wouldn't otherwise be caught dead near, those are the two. But food and beer alone cannot sustain someone for four-ish hours while everyone else is glued to the television. Here are some other Super Bowl party activities for those who would rather skin a pig than watch a pigskin:

The PovertyNeck Hillbillies are the official band of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- yes, really.

Last week we brought you a debate over the best Arizona musicians of all time after Arizona Premiere Living put out a list that includes Mr. Mister but not Stevie Nicks. Turns out, there are so many great musicians from Arizona it's impossible to fit them all on to a top 10 list.

With the Arizona Cardinals facing the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend we decided to make a list of the 10 best musical acts from the Steel City. Spoiler alert: We didn't have to leave anyone like Stevie Nicks off of it.

We recently ran across this list of the "Top Ten All-Time Arizona Musicians" from Arizona Premiere Living. Some of the choices are obvious: Meat Puppets, Jimmy Eat World, Jordin Sparks, Gin Blossoms, Alice Cooper, and Linda Ronstadt almost always make the "top" lists of Arizona musicians. We were also pleasantly surprised to see legendary guitarist Duane Eddy on the list.


Mr. Mister: Better than Meat Puppets?

But some of Arizona Premiere Living's choices (and more so, their omissions) baffle us. For example, Mr. Mister is #7 on the list. I've got nothing against the '80s popsters (keyboardist Steve George's mother was my music teacher at Sunnyslope Elementary School), but they only had two hits ("Kyrie" and "Broken Wings") and then disappeared into the ether. So why did they make the list (even ranked above Bill Spooner of The Tubes, Jimmy Eat World, and Meat Puppets)?

Think comic conventions are only for geeks, nerds, and losers? Well, we may not argue with that, but we will argue that being called a "geek" and a "nerd" are no longer derogatory terms. Those guys who picked on Bill Gates for wearing glasses so thick he could see into the future during the '70s are now probably the same guys who fix Gates' plumbing when one of the 18 toilets in his mansion is on the fritz -- if they're lucky.

Be honest: You've had a sip. You know what I'm talking about--you've taken a little tug from that sweet, refreshing Obama Kool-Aid. It's OK -- most of us have. And things will hit a fever pitch today, what with the inauguration and the excitement over you-know-who taking off for pastures more Texan and less Presidential. To commemorate your crush, here are the 5 most ludicris, over-the-top pieces of Obama gear that the most balls-out loyalists should own:

The Phoenix Metro Light Rail has been the talk of the town since voters approved the $1.4 billion project in 2000. The public transit system opened on December 27, and Valley denizens have both praised and bemoaned the rail. The most common complaint is that Light Rail service stops at midnight, but should run later.

 

Here are Ten Reasons Metro Light Rail Needs to Extend Its Hours Until 2 a.m.  

In anticipation of the upcoming live comedy show this Sunday at the Marquee Theatre featuring Adult Swim goofballs Tim & Eric, I feel I must bring to light the magnificent music video directing skills of Eric Wareheim (the nice young fellow on the right).  Wareheim is the more musically inclined of the duo, playing in a handful of bands while living in Philadelphia. He has directed a handful of music videos, infusing his mind-numbing visual aesthetic into songs by Ben Folds and Phantom Planet, to name a few.

The videos are absolutely amazing and they restore my interest in both bands, whom I stopped caring about in 2002. I will feature the videos after the jump, with a brief explanation of why they are both brilliant and absolutely fucking hilarious.

As our readers have pointed out before, "Top 10" lists are subjective. The list that follows is our take on the ten best hip-hop MCs in the Valley. But since there are dozens and dozens of rappers in the PHX, we're sure to leave somebody's favorite out. Heck, we've even got one artist on here that was famous before he ever moved to the Valley. Feel free to kill us in the comments section, after peeking at our choices for...

Phoenix's Top 10 Local Hip-Hop MCs (in no particular order):


photo by Vincent P

1. Roca Dolla: Roca Dolla's been a force in local hip-hop for more than a decade. His label, 5Fith Coast Records, has released albums by some of the Valley's hottest new hip-hop artists, but Roca Dolla's own lyrical flows still bury them all. His latest album, the double-CD Roca Is a Classic, shows his musical diversity, as he raps around old school soul beats, R&B hooks, and sinister-sounding synthesizers.